Term-recorder.



A. ZITZMANN.

TERM RECORDER.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 2. 1916.

1 1 98,308 Patented Sapvt. 12, 1916.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

SHEET 3.

Patented Sept. 12, 1916.

3 S H E E T S- A. ZITZMANN.

TERM RECORDER.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 2. I9I6.

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I i I I I I I I I I I I I 2'5 III To BE Toss Croat Z V//f WMM AUGUST ZITZMANN, 0F ZURICH, SWITZERLAND TERM-RECORDER.

specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 12, 1916.

Application led February 2, 1916. Serial No. 75,881.

To all whom 'Zt may. concern:

Be it known that I, AUGUST ZrrzMANN, citizen of the Kingdom of Bavaria, residing at Zurich, in the county of Zurich and State of Switzerland, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Term-Recorders, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in deed-boxes or devices for recording various terms as for instance: summonses, times of delivery, terms of payment, time allowed for notices, time-limits of offers, meeting days for bills, demands of payment and all other affairs of business, with a simultaneous presentation of all scriptures in original documents or in their complete copies which are necessary for disposal of the business in question.

The objects of my improvements are: first, to provide a precise and correct safekeeping of any document for any particular day of the 366 days of the year, by using 43 drawers only; second, to keep each document safe and under control without it being necessary to open any drawer: third, to avoid the necessity of re-arranging at the commencement of each new month the con tents -of each of the 12 monthly drawers commonly used; fourth, to record visibly each term of each document kept in the drawer and of each coming month of the year; fifth, to insure, that the documents kept in the device be taken out at the right time, and sixth, to record each mistake and each omission which may have occurred in the working of the device. l attain these objects by the mechanism shown in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a front elevation. Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the device on the line A-B in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a top View of a control-label (L1), a side view of a controllabel (L2), a-bottom view of a control-label (L3). Fig. 4 is a top view of one of the 31 daily drawers. Fig. 5 is a front view of one of the 31 daily drawers. Fig. 6 is a vertical section of one of the 31 daily drawers on the line CD in Fig. 4. Fig. 7 is a top view otono of the 12 monthly drawers. Fig. 8 isa front view of one of the` 12 monthly drawers. Fig. 9 is a vertical section of one of the 12 monthly drawers on the linel E--F in Fig. 7.

Similar letters refer to similar parts 5 throughout the diierent views.

The device consists/of a normal box (Figs.

1 and 2) divided in two halves the right side Aof which contains 31 daily drawers marked by continuous numbers from 1 to 31, while the left side is occupied by 12 monthly drawers marked by the names of the calendar-months J anuary-Decemben Each of the 31 daily drawers bears on its front face (Figs. 1 and 5) the inscription: To be opened on the and the standing number of the day for which it is rescribed. Thus we read on the surface of t e first daily drawer: To be opened on the: 11st of; on the surface of the second drawer:To be opened on the 2nd' of, etc. On the right of this inscription there is a metal frame f (Figs. 1 and 5) in which a control'label bearing the name of the calendar month can be put. Therefore the number of the day of any daily drawer is unchangeable whereas the name of the month on each daily drawer can be changed. These control labels bearing the names of the calendar months are executed in the form shown b Fig. 3. On the side view L2 of the same gure we see that the handle of the label is bent from the plane of the Hat surface of the label at an angle of 45 degrees, also that the side of the label forming with the handle an angle of 135 degrees bears in lar e letters the name of the calendar month (L, in Fig. 3), while the opposite side of the handle forming with the label an angle of 225 degrees bears in small letters the name of the same month and also the number of the daily drawer to which the label belongs (L1 in Fig. 3).

Each of the 31 daily drawers is rovided with a complete set (12 pieces) o control labels L (Figs. 1 and 4) fo the whole year. In their normal position these labels are slipped into 12 horizontal slots s (Figs. 1, 4, 5, 6,) in the 'front board of the drawer, so

' that they are completely hidden between the double-bottom d--d (Fig. 6) of the drawer` and only their handles project from the front board (Figs. 4, 5 and 6) showing the small inscriptions of the 12 calendar months and the number of the day pertaining to the drawer. The handles of the labels in the drawer 1 show the inscription: 1st January, 1st February and so on to 1st December; the handles of the labels in the drawer 2 bear the inscriptions: 2d January, 2d February and so on to 2nd December.

If the label 12th November l has been pulled out of its slot in the daily drawer. 12 and put into the frame f of the same drawer as Fig. 5 Shows. the large inscription November appears in the opening ot' the trame while the small inscription on the handle (12th November) is turned against the front board and thus` is no longer legi.- ble. It is unnecessary to remark that for February only .)Sl labels aro provided and for April. June. September and November il() each.

All control labels of those ralendar months whieh bear an odd number fi. c. January, March. May. July. September and November, are red (white letters on red barkground), thoSe ot the Ca lendar monthss` whith have an even number i. C. February. April, June, August. October and December, are white (red letters on white background). Thus the handles ot' the labels puty into the Slots of the daily drawers t'orm twelve verti- 'al stripes alternating in red and white. (See Figs. l. l. and where the red labels are shown by vertieal shadings).

Earh oontrol label has in its baek end a Circular hole la, (Fig. 2%) and the bottom ot` each daily drawer is provided with 12 similar oorresponding' holes in a row o (Figs. l and (i) in eaeh ot which a bolt (Figa. Vl and 6) can he put. In this ease the bolt goes through the hole of the double bottom of the drawer and through the hole ot the control label so that the latter will be cheeked and rannot be removed out of' its slot. The boltsr (l2 pieces in eaeh daily drawer) are kept in a 'set-ond row ol holes r (Figs. l and (il and to rheek any rontrol label it is only neet-#sary to rhangje its bolt from the bark row r into the front row 0 (see Figs. t and t'. label June"`l.

The twelve monthly drawers (Figs. l. f2. i'. *i and t?) have not their own rontrol labels but horizontal slots .v (Figa. 1. S and in which the label"y taken away from the daily drawers ran be put'. Vllaeh monthly drawer has; as many slots as. there are days in that month. thus` the drawer January has 31. the drawer February il slots. ete.

On the top ot the devire there is a date box Z (Fiets. l and 2l the boards ol whieh bearing: the numbers of days t (Figs. 1,2, l. and l are kept in the daily drawers in surh a way, that the board number l kept in the drawer To be opened on the ist". the board number l n the drawer To be opened on the 2d eti'. ln the same way the, boards with the names otl the months m (Figs. l. 2. T and il) are Iorated in the monthly drawers. the board January in the monthly drawer Jamiary.tlie board February in the monthly drawer February. ete. lt is therel'ore impossible to Change the date in the date box f.\vithout openingr the daily drawer at the commencement ol earh day and the corresponding' monthly drawer at the beginning.r ol' eaeh month. These boardsr for the dan, law L l in a Cavity c (Figs. 4, 6, 7 and 9) in the inner bottom of the drawers so that they are in a fixed position and do not eneroaeh upon the space required for the papers in the drawer.

The working of this deviee for ret'ording terms is as followS-t. the commencement of a year all control labels in the daily drawers falling on a Sunday. a holiday or other non-wwrking days will be (cheeked in the manner .leseribed above. 'l`wo eopiesy are made of every document to be` brought out on a rei-tain day. Une ot' these is tiled in the usual way. while the other Copy. made purposely on a colored paper. will be put in that drawer which is marked with the number ot' the day or with the name of the month appointed for it. The daily drawers ot the devire having been prepared t'or January when the January label of each drawer has been pulled out otl its slot s and put into the 'trame on the front board of the same drawer. these drawerS are then ready to rereive doeuments for from 1st to 31st of January. Documents required at a later time than that whieh the daily drawers are temporarily marked t'or. must be deposited in the monthly drawer in which their terms fall. ln order, however, to mark not only the month but also the very day on which surh doouments will be required, it is neressary to take the respective label of that month out ot' the respective daily drawer which bearS the number ot the day the doeument is required on. and put it into the slot ot the monthly drawer which rontains the dorument..

Figi. l shows the state ot the deviee on the (3th ot June, when the daily draw rs ot' the tortlu'oming' days ot' June (Tth to 30th) are still prepared l'or the remaining days of June but the. drawers 1st to (Sth after having been opened and cleared ot' their contents are already marked l'or the next month July. lt at this state of the deviee documents wanted on the lst. 5th. 9th, 14th. 15th. 17th. Lrd and 29th ol (')etober are to be stored. they will all be put into the monthly drawer ()rtoher" but at the same time the control labels Oetobm"r` will be taken oli' from the daily drawers bearing the day`s date ot maturity t'. the daily drawers lst. 5th. 9th. 14th,y 15th. lith`r 28rd and 29th) and put into the roi-responding` numbered slots ot' the monthly drawer Ortober as is shown in Fig'. l and on a larger srale in Fig. 8. The `sui-lare ot the monthly drawer Urtober imlirates now not only that documents required in (hftober are placed here. but also all days otI October on whieh the documents in tober are required, are clearly indirated.

lt anybody plaees a dorument in the monthly drawer l'or a day which is a nonworkingday, he` will be instantly warned because the relative control label in the daily drawer is locked `and therefore cannot be put into the monthly drawer. ln this case it lwill be necessary to choose a day before or a day after that originally intended and it is impossible to date any document for any day on which no work is to be done.

The necessity of clearing the contents of each drawer after its date has arrived is secured `by the necessity of changing the date in the date box on the top of the device Vin Figs. 1` and 2). As the'board bearing the new date lies in the cavity o (Figs. 4 and (3) of the drawer and isv covered by the documents filed in the latter, this change of the date cannotv be executed before the drawer of the day has been opened and before the documents kept in this drawer and required on this day have been taken out. As long as the date in the date box c has not been changed, so long is there arvisible and an unmistakable warning that the terms of this day have not been noticed. After the docu ments wanted on the 6th of June for instance, have been taken out, they can either be instantly disposed of or put back for a Y later date.' In any case the drawer: To be openedvon theth of June is emptied and mustbe marked for the 6th day of the next month z'. e. July. For this purpose the control label June will be taken out of the frame f (Figs. 1 and in the front board and put back into its corresponding slot June `of thesame drawer while the next label July is moved from its slot i'nto the frame f changing .the inscription of the drawer from: To be opened on the 6th of June into the inscription: To be opened ron the 6th of' `July. From this instant the draweris ready to take all documents re- 'quired on the 6th' Yof July.

'Because the month June bears an even number and therefore its control labels are white, all white labels June in the frames 4drawer 7th f 0f lthe daily drawers (Fig. 1) form an unbroken vertical white stripe while the red labels of July in the same frames follow in an unbroken red stripe. The lower stripe of the, current month diminishes every day by one label` the upper stripe of the other color and of the next month increases every day by one label. A color of a label not changed interrupts the continuity of the upper stripe and shows'any error or omission.v Fig. .1 shows thev state of the `deviceron the 6th of June after the documents in the drawer 6th have been taken out and after the ,drawer (3th has been marked for the next monthv July. The red stripe of labels now Vreaches as far'as 6th Vot July. On the next day only the vdrawer 7th of June can be opened, vemptied land marked for July. lf

by any mistake the drawer 8th instead of the should be emptied and its frame marked by a red label July, the outstanding white label June on the drawer 7th of June" between the red label 6th of July and that by mistake changed 8th July would. immediately indicate the error.

)Vhen a new month has arrived, it is not necessary to take out all the documents kept in the relative monthly drawer and to rearrange them into4 the daily drawers, By means of the control labels already described, each document kept in any of the monthly drawers comes automatically and in time into the hands of the man working the device. lt ha.`l been described how the day of maturity of any document placed in a monthly drawer is marked on the surface of the monthly' drawer by change of the relative control label. For example a document maturing on the 12th of July has been placed in the monthly drawer July and its term marked on the latter by the control label 12th July taken from the daily drawer 12th and put into the slot 12 of the monthly drawer July (see Fig. 1). As the daily drawers in the month of June (Fig. 1) are day by day emptied out and their frames f marked for the forthcoming month July, the day of the 12th of June arrives. After the documents of the daily drawer: To be opened on the 12th of June have been taken out and after the date in the date box 71: (Figs. 1 and 2) has been changed, the emptied drawer 12th should be marked for the next month July byV changing the label in the frame f. But this label is missing in the daily drawer 12th because it has been placed in the monthly drawer July when the document wanted on the 12th of July has been deposited there. This missing label shows distinctly that in the monthly drawer or more documents wanted on 'the' 12th of July and the man working the device will not only take out the missing label to mark the daily drawer for the month July, but he also will take out the documents maturing on the 12th of July and put them into their proper daily drawer just emptied and prepared for the 12th of July. This transposal of any document occurs .inst one month before its maturity and no document kept in any monthly drawer can be forgotten. But let us suppose that the man workingr the device, after having placed a document in a monthly drawer.vv has forgotten to mark this drawer with the label bearing the day and month of maturity. Even in this case a timely transposal mc these documents is secured. At the beginning of a new month it is necessary to change the name of the month in the date box r (Figs. 1 and 2) and to take out the relative board from the monthly drawer. On this occasion the monthly drawer must be found empty and for the changing of the name takes place on the 1st day of every month, any docu- July there lies one vplaced in the front boards of the monthly drawers the state of all coming terms, their frequency over a certain period and their distribution for the whole year.

I am aware that'prior to my invention there have been several simi ar devices containing daily and monthly drawers. I

therefore do not claim such a combination broadly; but

I claim:

1. The combination in a term recorder of daily drawers provided with means for bolding controllabels, and control labels arranged in rows, each row on a drawer, and capable of being removed individually and lplaced in the holding means of a daily drawer to display the name of the month it belongs to, substantially as described.

2. In a term recorder, the combination of 31 daily drawers provided with means for holding control labels, and a set of 366 control labels arranged in 31 rows,each row on one of the 3l daily drawers, each control label being individually capable of removal from its respective row and placed in the holding means on the frontsurface of. a daily drawer to expose the name of the month it belongs to, substantially asdescribed.`

3. In a term recorder, the combination of daily drawers provided with control label holding means at their front ends, one or more monthly drawers, and aset of control labels'arranged in rows and capable of being individually removed and yplaced either on the front surface of a monthly drawer or in the holding means on a daily drawer to expose when in the latter position the name,

of the month it belongs to, substantially as described. l

4. In a term recorder, the combination of 31 daily drawers provided with control label holding means at their ends, 12 monthly drawers, and 366 control labels arranged in 31 rows, each row on the front surface of one 'of-the 31 daily drawers, each control label being removable individually and adapted to be placed in the holding means of a daily drawer, in the latter position displaying thereon the name ofthe month they belong to, each control lab l being also adapted to be placedin the hol ing means of a monthly drawer. substantially as described.

5. The combination in a term recorder of daily drawers provided with means for holding control labels, and a set of 366 control labels arranged in 31 rows, eacb.vow on one of the 31 daily drawers, eachontrol label each control label being placcuble in a Ain'a drawerand provided with a handle prfbeing individually capable of removal from its respective row and placed in the holding means on the front surface of a daily drawer to expose the name of the month it belongs to, the labelsof each respective month being also arranged in vertical rows, the control labels for odd and even months respectivel f differing from each other in appearance, Substantially as described.

6. In a term recorder, the combination of 31 daily drawers provided with means for holding control labels, and a set of 366 control labels arranged in 31 horizontal rows, each row on one of the 31 daily drawers, each control label being individually capable of removal from its respective row and placed in the holding means on the front surface of a dailydrawer in vertical alinement with the other labels to expose the name of the month it belongs to, the control labels for odd and even months respectively differingv from each other in appearance, substantially as described.

7. In a term recorder, the combination of daily drawers provided with control label holding means at their front ends, one or more monthly drawers, and a set of control labels arranged in horizontal rows /and capable of being individually removeddand placed either on the front surface of ay monthly drawer or in the holding means on a daily drawer to expose when in the latlter position the name of the month it belongs to, the labels of each respective month being also arranged in vertical rows,l the control 4labels for theodd and even months respec- Alaced in the"holding means of a monthly ra'wer, the control labels for the odd and even months respectively differing from each other in appearance, substantially as described. v

9. In a term recorder, tlu` combination ol' daily drawers each provided with a series et' slots in its front surfaciand with contwl label holding means; and a sct of control labels arranged in rows, each row on the front surface of one of the daiiv draw lll jecting out of the slot and bearing date, said labels being capable or" .weinU dividuallyrremoved and located in the he monthly ing means on a dany drawer to display the name. of the month it belongs to, substantially as described.

10. ln a term recorder, the combination of dailv drawers each provided with a series oi lots 1n its rront surface and with control label holding means; one or more drawers each provided with a series of slots in its front end, and a set of control labels arranged in rows, each row on the front surface of one of the daily drawers, each control label being placeable in a Slot in a daily drawer and provided with a handle projecting out of the slot and bearing the labels date, said labels being capable of being individually removed and located either in a slot in a monthly drawer or in the holding means on a daily drawer, substantially as described.

11. In a term recorder, the combination of daily drawers each provided with a series of slots in its front surface and with control label holding means; and a set of control labels arranged in rows, each row on the front surface of one of the daily drawers, each control label being placeable in a slot in a drawer and provided with a handle projecting out of the slot and bearing the labels date, said labels being capable of being individually removed an located in the holding means on the daily drawers and displaying the name of the month it belongs to, the labels that belong to the odd and even months respectively dilering from each other vin appearance by being alternately colored, substantially as described.

12. In a term recorder, the combination of daily drawers each provided with a series of slots in its front surface and with control label holding means; one or more monthly drawers each provided with a series of slots in its front end, and a set o control labels arranged in rows, each row on the front surface of one of the daily drawers, each control label being placeable in a slot in a daily drawer and provided with a handle projecting out of the slot and bearing the labels date, said labels being capable of being individually removed and Copies of this patent may be obtained for Svc cents each, by addressing the located either in a slot in a monthly drawer or in the holding means on a daily drawer, or in a slot in a daily drawer, the labels that belong to the odd and even months respectively dilfering from each other in appearance by being alternately colored, substantially as described.

13. The combination in a term recorder of daily drawers provided with means for holding control labels, and control labels arranged in rows each row on a drawer, and capable of being removed individually, and placed in the holding means of a daily drawer, to display the name of the month it belongs to, and means whereby said control labels can be checked or locked in their slots in the daily drawers so that any label belonging to a Sunday, a holiday or another non-working day can be beforehand rendered temporarily unusable, substantially as described.

lei. In a term recorder, the combination of 31 daily drawers provided with means for holding control labels, and a set of 366 control labels arranged in 3l rows, each row on one of the 3l daily drawers, the control labels being individually capable of removal from its respective row and placed in the holding means on the front surface of a daily drawer to expose the name of the month it belongs to, and means whereby said control labels can be checked or locked in their slots in the daily drawers so that any labehbelonging to a Sunday, a holiday or another non-working day can be beforehand rendered temporarily unusable, substantially as described.

15. ln a term recorder, a set of date plates, and drawers provided with cavities in their inner bottoms in which the respective date-plates are placed S0 that Sai `plates will be covered by documents lying in the drawers and a date plate cannot be readily removed from a drawer unless the overlying drawer, substantially as described.

AUGUST ZTZMANN.

lVitnesses:

GEORG REIF, FRANK Bonn.

Commissioner of latenti,

Washington, D. C."

documents are taken out of the 

